💸 Maria Rotilu's Openseed Announces the First Close of Its Debut Solo GP Fund
FemWealth Issue #160
Hi FemWealth Friends,
In the Spotlight 💸
Founded by Maria Rotilu - Europe’s first Black solo GP, and a former Octopus Ventures, Oxford Seed Fund, and Hustle Fund investor - Openseed announced the first close of its fund targeted at $10 million.
“We chose Africa and Europe to apply our thesis to work in these regions. Our thesis is that by backing experienced operators early in their journey with the right capital and support from peer operators, you can build a diversified portfolio that generates incredible returns for investors and provides crucial support for ambitious operators when they need it most.
(….) There are very few female-led funds globally, and we have a specific perspective on what a diversified portfolio should look like. We focus on diversification across geography, industry and gender. A lot of work is being done around diversity, and as a fund, we apply a gender lens to our portfolio strategy. We aim for a truly diverse portfolio, striving for a 50/50 balance in co-founding teams.”- Maria Rotilu, Founder and General Partner of Openseed (via TechCrunch)
The London-based firm aims to back around 60 operator-led, very early-stage startups in Europe and Africa, in three areas: the future of commerce, health, and work. It will write cheques up to $150k.
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Expressable brings speech therapy into the home - Co-founded by Leanne Sherred, Expressable offers one-on-one virtual sessions with speech language pathologists. The US company announced a $26 million Series B round led by HarbourVest Partners, with participation from Digitalis Ventures, F-Prime Capital, and Lerer Hippeau.
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Radar Therapeutics Raises $13.4M in Seed Funding to Develop Smart Programmable Medicines Using Molecular RNA Sensors - Co-founded and led by Sophia Lugo, Radar Therapeutics develops precision-targeted mRNA-based treatments. The US company raised a $13.4 million Seed round led by NfX, with Eli Lilly, Biovision Ventures, KdT Ventures, PearVC, and BEVC also participating.
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Ketos Receives $10M Equity Growth Financing - Founded and led by Meena Sankaran, KETOS provides real-time water data and predictive analytics for agricultural, industrial, and municipal water operators. The San Francisco startup raised a $10 million round led by Tenfore Holdings, with contributions from Danu Venture Group and previous investors Broadway Angels, Plum Alley Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, and Accenture.
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OncoveryCare Partners with Tennessee Oncology and Raises $4.5M Seed Round from .406 Ventures - Co-founded and led by Hil Moss, OncoveryCare is a virtual survivorship clinic for those living with and beyond cancer. The Boston-based startup raised a $4.5 million Seed round led by .406 Ventures, with the McKay Institute for Oncology Transformation at Tennessee Oncology, Oncology Ventures, and Techstars also joining.
Amplexd Therapeutics Secures $2M to Advance HPV-Induced Cervical Precancer Treatments - Co-founded and led by Alia Rahman, Amplexd Therapeutics is a clinical-stage patient-scientist-led biotech company that specializes in developing accessible treatments for HPV-induced CIN (Cervical Intraepithelial Neoplasia). It secured $2 million in funding from an Asia-based family office specializing in life sciences.
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Quantia raises $1.2M for e-commerce analytics - Founded and led by Marta Łącka, Quantia offers a sales analytics platform. The London, UK-based startup raised $1.2 million in Pre-Seed funding. Inovo VC and Team X led the round.
CARÁ Health raises €620K for prenatal and postpartum support - Founded by Anna Strubel and Carina Vantsi, CARA Health aims to bridge the maternity support gap by providing mothers with a library of evidence-based information, and access to physical clinics. The Estonian startup raised €620K in a Seed funding round led by Tera Ventures.
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Until next Sunday,
Anamaria
Founder & Writer of FemWealth